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Friday, September 20, 2013

A Day In Life With No iPhone

Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might...-Ecclesiastes 9:10a

This week I was helping a friend move when my smartphone, iPhone 4 to be exact, quit being so smart and decided to crash. The screen went completely black and there was no sign of life. It was no big deal at first and I googled how to fix this problem once at home, only to learn that I needed both the on/off switch and home button to be working in order to reboot the phone. My on/off switch had already been replaced in May but quit working so I decided not to fix it again until now that I really needed it.

At the time I thought the phone may be gone for good, which may have been wishful thinking for justification of an iPhone 5S, but either way I knew that I would be without my phone for at least a day as I dropped it off at a repair shop. I quickly learned how attached to my iPhone I had become (I am sure my wife could have told you this before). A day with no iPhone, Oh no, how would I know the most recent exchange rate? How would I listen to today's ask pastor John? How would I update twitter? How would I look at my most recent emails? The list could go on and on of all the "necessary" apps that I need and check daily.

Every hour I found myself going for my phone to use one of hundreds of apps as I realized just how dependent I had become on my phone. I was forced to go through a form of detox due to the crash of the phone and lack of an on/off switch. I put the above verse from Ecclesiastes mainly as a joke because I have heard it quoted to justify masturbation so I am sure the same could apply for using a smartphone as much as most of us do (come on now be honest, I am not the only one).

What I Learned Without An iPhone:

I am too dependent on it.

It is a useful tool, but I allow it to take away from other things at times.

I need to have more intentional times of disconnect.

If I turned to Jesus and Prayer as often as I do my iPhone my spiritual life would be much holier.

The last point is sincere in my thinking of my own life. What if I got to the place that I turned to Jesus, the Bible, and prayer as often as I do my iPhone. To be transparent, I know that it would change the way my own life looks and that is hard to admit. Are smartphones useful? Yes. Are we generally doing good things when we are using them? Yes. Have they made our lives easier? Yes and No. Do I plan on giving mine up and quit using them? No. Am I trying to convince you to stop using yours? No.

Now iOS7 has released since my phone has been repaired and yes, I already have it on my phone and I am enjoying it, but I am trying to remember the points I learned by a day with no iPhone. An iPhone is not a bad thing, but times of unplugging, whether intentional or non-intentional, are good for us so we don't fall into the trap of being secluded on our own little technology islands away from all the people we love that are right next to us.